The petition received by the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights on April 9,
l984,
according to which:

ARISTIDES LOPEZ HUERTA, 25 years of age, married, a farmer and resident of
the
area of El Cedro, Department of Jinotega, was arrested at home on December 18, l983 and taken
to El Bocay, in the same department. He was taken away on board an IFA truck and there are
two witnesses to his arrest. So far his whereabouts are unknown.

The transmission of the pertinent parts of this petition to the Government of Nicaragua
in
the note of June 18, l984, requesting it to provide such information as it deemed pertinent, as well
as
any information that would make it possible to ascertain whether, in the case that is the subject
matter
of this request, the remedies of domestic law had been exhausted.

The communication of January 30, l985 which repeated the request for information of
June
l8, l984.

The repetition of the request for information made in the note of February 27, l986,
which
informed the Government of Nicaragua that, should such information not be provided within a
period
of thirty days pursuant to Article 42 of the Regulations, the facts reported would be considered to
be
true.

CONSIDERING:

That so far the Government of Nicaragua has not replied to the request for information
made
by the Commission concerning this case and that, in addition, the requirements of domestic law
have
been exhausted.

That, by reason of their nature, the facts that are the subject matter of the petition, do
not
permit the application in this case of the friendly settlement procedure.

That Article 42 of the Regulations of the Commission stipulates the following:

The facts reported in the petition whose pertinent parts have been transmitted to
the
Government of the State in reference shall be presumed to be true if, during the maximum
period set by the Commission under the provisions of Article 34, paragraph 5, the Government
has not provided the pertinent information, as long as other evidence does not lead to a different
conclusion.

That, in addition to not replying to the repeated requests for information, the
Government
of Nicaragua has so far not allowed a member of the Commission and an official of the Secretariat
to
go to that country to clarify certain aspects relating to this case, pursuant to the provisions of
Article
48.1 d of the American Convention on Human Rights to which Nicaragua is a State
Party.

That in its observations to Resolution 17/86, the Nicaraguan Government stated that
Mr.
Aristides Lopez Huerta has not been detained and no restrictions have been placed on his freedom
of
movement in the country adding that:

The information supplied by the claimants does not appear to correspond with
reality.
It is relevant to point out to this Honorable Commission that the places where this person was
allegedly detained are zones in which counterrevolutionary bands enter and leave and in which
a climate of danger and movement typical of war zones exists. In such zones, in which the
backwardness is not notorious, there is not even a population census. The above circumstances
impede the rapid gathering of information.

The observations of the Government are a general response and do not address the
details
of the facts presented by the claimant, for which reason the Commission finds that these
observations
do not cast doubt upon the conclusions to which it arrived in Resolution 17/86.

That the General Assembly of the Organization of American States declared in
Resolution
666 (XIII-0/83) that "the practice of the forced disappearance of persons in the Americas is an
affront
to the conscience of the hemisphere and constitutes a crime against humanity."

In view whereof:

THE INTER-AMERICAN COMMISSION ON HUMAN RIGHTS,

RESOLVES:

To consider to be true the facts reported in the communication of April 9, l984
concerning
the arrest and subsequent disappearance of Mr. Arístides López Huerta.

To declare that the Government of Nicaragua has violated the right to personal liberty
(Article 7) and the right to life (Article 4) set forth in the American Convention on Human Rights
to
which Nicaragua is a State Party.

To recommend to the Government of Nicaragua that it order a thorough investigation
of the
facts reported in order to identify the persons responsible, and prosecute and punish them in
accordance
with the law and that it adopt the necessary measures to prevent a repetition of such serious
events.

To confirm Resolution 17/86, to include it in its Annual Report to the General
Assembly of
the Organization of American States, in accordance with Article 63, g of the
Regulations of the
Commission, and communicate it to the claimant.